COMMENTARY ON WORD PRESS FREEDOM DAY, 2017
THEME: CRITICAL MINDS FOR CRITICAL TIMES: MEDIA’S ROLE IN ADVANCING PEACEFUL, JUST AND INCLUSIVE SOCIETIES.
By Gbemiga Bamidele
Word press freedom day is annually observed on May 3 to inform the international community that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. This day reminds people that many journalist brave deaths or face jail to bring daily news to the public.
The theme for this year’s WorldPress Freedom Day. “Critical minds for critical times: Media’s role in advancing peaceful, just, and inclusive societies”
The United Nations General Assembly [ UNGA] formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on September 25,2015.This include a set of Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]aimed at wiping out poverty, fighting inequality, promoting sustainability, building peaceful and inclusive societies and tackling climate change. The new goals are universal in their application and far broader in vision and intent than their predecessors, the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]. Unlike the MDGs framework, peace related issues are strongly featured. This achievement came with robust participation of the civil society, engaging and interacting in new ways in a more open and inclusive policy formulation context. The centerpiece of this approach is goal 16 which states thus “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
The inclusion of a goal to promote peaceful and inclusive societies in the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] marks the significant awareness that peace and security is critical for poverty eradication and sustainable development. There was a clear acknowledgement that political goals, ensuring inclusion, entrenching good governance and ending violent conflict must find a place along social, economic and environmental ones.
The 2030 agenda for sustainable development recognized the media’s contributions to good governance and development and the importance of public access to information and fundamental freedoms, which includes freedom of expression. This recognition is of great significance since the SDGs will guide countries’ actions in the fifteen[15] years to come, to address the most pressing challenges facing societies, ranging from ending poverty and fighting inequalities to tackling climate change.
Consequently, the 2017 world press freedom day is focused on why it is vital to strengthen free and quality journalism to enable the media effectively contribute to the achievement of SDG 16. Specifically, the interrelationship between freedom of expression, justice for all and the rule of law, peace, and inclusiveness will be explored. The rule of law forms an integral part of a democratic and inclusive society, and it is the process through which every actor in society can be held accountable for their actions. Weak institutions, a weak judiciary, and lack of access to justice greatly impede sustainable development. And it is with this understanding that the 2030 development agenda includes SDG target 16.3, which promotes ‘the rule of law at the national and international levels and equal access to justice for all’.
Only when media are free, independent and pluralistic can they ensure that the rule of law is applied and respected in full. Journalists are expected to work in legal environment that allows them to report in an independent manner, and should not be targeted for exercising their profession. There must be protection mechanisms for journalists and effective investigation of attacks and violations against journalists. Impunity for crimes committed against journalists is a major obstacle to ensure the safety of journalists and freedom of expression as a whole.
According to the World Bank, two billion people currently live in countries where development outcome are affected by fragility, conflict and violence. As a result of conflict and persecution, it is estimated that 60million people have fled their homes either as refugees [19.5million], internally displaced persons [38.2million], or asylum seekers. The media often play a central role in conflict and crisis situations. Independent, objective, and neutral media can help defuse tension, promote dialogue and contain conflicts. Conversely, biased and untrue reporting can exacerbate violence. When misused for propaganda purpose, the media can contribute to inciting hatred and spreading rumors.
This points to the importance of promoting ethical and professional standards in journalism, particularly in conflicts situations. Moreover, in conflict and crisis situations, the risks faced by journalists are significantly multiplied. Alongside wars, the spread of violent extremist catalyzed by extremist groups such as Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant[ISIL] Al-Qaida and Boko-Haram poses a serious threat to peace security, human rights and justice.
These groups have used social media as a tool for the global and real-time communication of messages of intolerance, whether religious, cultural or social. The digital era has enhanced opportunities for access to information, the creation and sharing of knowledge, facilitating exchange as well as intercultural dialogue. However the rise of online hate speech shows that digital technologies also carry with them a number of challenges. One of these is striking the right balanced between freedom of expression online and respect for equality and human dignity.
It implies taking into account the specific characteristics of online speech, which involve dynamics such as digital permanence, itinery anonymity and trans-border communication which crosses legal jurisdiction. There is also a dire need for holistic approach that addresses the root causes of tension and division within the societies in line with the Rabat Plan of action, launched by the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on February 21, 2013, on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
The media can provide a platform for multitude of voices and perspectives that can help strengthen tolerance, dialogue and critical thinking. Journalists can also offer counter narratives to challenge the ideas promoted in violent extremism narratives.
As the world progresses through the 21st century, its reliance on ICTs has allowed for a greater participation of the public in the media. The SDGs aims towards ‘responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision making at alllevels,” which can be attained once there is universal access to information. Only a well informed and inclusive society can take its destiny in its hand, participating in the democratic functioning of its institutions, and work towards enduring peace and a better future.
As the World embarks on a new journey towards Sustainable Development, the 2017 edition of World Press Freedom Day [WPFD] provides a unique opportunity to highlight the central role of freedom of expression and the right to information in the realization of the SDGs. These fundamental freedoms should be seen both as means towards and as goals of sustainable development.
Gbemiga Bamidele,Snr Assistant National secretary,
NUJ can be reached at liftmeahead@yahoo.com, 08122335570/08053000100
